Columbus- Fourth Voyage

Columbus convinced the Spanish monarchs to send him on one last voyage to the New World. The purpose of the voyage was to find the passage to Asia that no one had found, but Columbus was still convinced existed. Columbus sailed with his brother and his son. He left Spain on May 11th. On the way, he sailed to Morocco to rescue some Portuguese sailors.

On June 15th, Columbus' fleet of four ships arrived in Martinique. Columbus believed that a hurricane was brewing and sought shelter in Hispaniola. The new governor refused to believe him that a hurricane was coming and also denied him entry into the colony. The hurricane did hit, and destroyed a Spanish fleet of 29 ships and 500 men, which included many of his enemies.

Columbus then sailed to Central America. Between August 14th and October 16th, he explored Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He then arrived in Panama, where he expected to find his long sought-after passage. Columbus spent five months exploring Panama. After one of his ships was stranded on the Rio Belen river, and his garrison was attacked, he sailed North towards Hispaniola. His ships sustained serious damage off the coast of Cuba and he was forced to beach his ships on Jamaica. Columbus and his crew were stranded in Jamaica for a year. Finally rescue came from Hispaniola after two of his crew paddled there together with natives . On November 7th 1504, Columbus returned to Spain for the final time.